Important legal information about the email you will be sending. By using this service, you agree to input your real email address and only send it to people you know. It is a violation of law in some jurisdictions to falsely identify yourself in an email. All information you provide will be used by Fidelity solely for the purpose of sending the email on your behalf. The subject line of the email you send will be "Fidelity.com: "

Important legal information about the e-mail you will be sending. By using this service, you agree to input your real e-mail address and only send it to people you know. It is a violation of law in some jurisdictions to falsely identify yourself in an e-mail. All information you provide will be used by Fidelity solely for the purpose of sending the e-mail on your behalf.The subject line of the e-mail you send will be "Fidelity.com: "

Your e-mail has been sent.

This lesson presumes an understanding of absolute discounts and premiums. For a refresher on that, please go to CEF Discounts and Premiums (See Related Lessons). Here, we will consider relative discounts and relative premiums.

In truth, all discounts and premiums are relative to another number. Absolute discounts/premiums are relative to the net asset value (NAV). Relative discounts/premiums are relative to the average discount of the particular CEF being considered. Because absolute discounts and absolute premiums tend to persist, relative discounts and relative premiums matter. Academic studies have shown that current discounts/premiums converge to their average discounts/premiums much more regularly than they converge to their NAVs.

Why are relative discounts helpful?

For one, they can help you avoid value traps. Let's look at the mythical CEF trading at a 15% discount. According to the oft-cited "CEF wisdom," this would be a good trade because the market is offering investors $1.00 of assets at the bargain price of $0.85. (Forget the fact that the $1.00 worth of assets may fall in value to $0.85!) Consider this:

3-year average absolute discount = -25%.

Current absolute discount = -15%

Standard deviation over the certain time period = 2

z-score = (-15 - -25) ÷ 2 = (-15 + 25) ÷ 2 = 10 ÷ 2 = +5.

A z-score of +5 indicates that, far from being relatively inexpensive--as CEF wisdom would have it--this CEF is relatively expensive. It could represent a classic value trap.

Z-score can also help investors uncover potentially truly undervalued and overvalued CEFs. If the z-score is greater than +2 or less than -2, more research would be warranted. Using relative discounts/premiums is a bit of an art. The time period analyzed is a large factor in the z-score. The same CEF may look relatively expensive on a 6-week basis and relatively cheap on a 3-year basis. Even though the CEF may look relatively expensive or relatively cheap, it may not be truly overvalued or undervalued.

Consider a CEF that is going to liquidate in one month. Liquidation is a method of making a CEF's share price converge with its NAV. All assets are sold and the remaining capital is distributed to shareholders. At the point of liquidation, the discount will be 0.

Current discount = -2% (in anticipation of the pending liquidation)

1-year average discount = -12%

1-year standard deviation = 1.5

z-score = (-2 - -12) ÷ 1.5 = (-2 + 12) ÷ 1.5 = 10 ÷ 1.5 = +6.7

This CEF is relatively expensive, but with very good reason: A corporate action has narrowed the discount. If an investor attempted a short sale of this CEF in the market, the likely outcome would be a capital loss.

There could be a fundamental reason behind a high or low z-score. Do not buy or sell a CEF simply because of its z-score. Further analysis as to why the current discount has deviated so far from its historic average is warranted.

Key takeaways

Buy-and-hold investors can use z-scores to determine whether the absolute discount/premium is truly signaling that the CEF is under- or overvalued or whether the absolute discount/premium could be a value trap.

Trading-oriented investors can z-scores to find candidates for buying or selling short. (In practice, this is the most common use of relative discounts/premiums.)

Regardless of how they are used, they are no guarantee of future investment gains. All that matters once a CEF is purchased is the subsequent total return. Just as absolute discounts/premiums can converge to NAV with no gain for the shareholder, so too can relative discounts/premiums.

It is important to understand why a CEF is trading at a current discount/premium that is widely divergent from its historic average. There could be a very good reason, aside from market sentiment.

Send to (Separate multiple e-mail addresses with commas)

Please enter a valid e-mail address

Your E-Mail Address

Please enter a valid e-mail address

Message (Optional)

Important legal information about the e-mail you will be sending. By using this service, you agree to input your real e-mail address and only send it to people you know. It is a violation of law in some jurisdictions to falsely identify yourself in an e-mail. All information you provide will be used by Fidelity solely for the purpose of sending the e-mail on your behalf.The subject line of the e-mail you send will be "Fidelity.com: "

Article copyright 2012 by Morningstar, Inc. Reprinted with permission from Morningstar, Inc. The statements and opinions expressed in this article are those of the author. Fidelity Investments cannot guarantee the accuracy or completeness of any statements or data.

Search Learning Center

Related Lessons

CEFs trade on an exchange. This means that they have a share price, which is set by the market. These two prices, the NAV and the share price, are rarely the same, and when they are, it's only by coincidence.

Closed-end funds at Fidelity

You can now screen and compare different types of closed end funds (CEFs).

Closed end funds may trade at a discount (or premium) to their NAV and are subject to the market fluctuations of their underlying investments. Shares of closed end funds frequently trade at a market price that is a discount to their NAV. Closed end funds are subject to management fees and other expenses.

The Closed End Fund Screener may include closed end funds not registered under the Investment Company Act of 1940